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Tips and Tricks for Finding Book Reviews
Reviews are usually published within five years of a book's publication. If you need a review of a book published in 1960, chances are good that you will not find a review in a database with coverage beginning in 1980.
Try searching for the author's last name and the title of the book - author's first names are often not indexed.
When was the book published? Most online book review resources only cover the last decades of the 20th century - reviews of older materials will often be in print publications.
Do you need a review of a popular novel? Use a source that covers popular materials rather than scholarly journals.
Resources for Reviews of Popular Fiction and Non-Fiction
- Academic Search Premier (1975-present)Finds books reviews in many disciplines published in core journals and trade publications. Bonus: almost all reviews are available online. To search for book reviews only, scroll down to "search options" and click on "book reviews" under "document type."
- Access World NewsAccess World News from NewsBank provides full-text information and perspectives from over 600 U.S. and over 500 international sources, each with its own distinctive focus offering diverse viewpoints on local, regional and world issues.
- Book Review Digest Plus (1983-present)Reviews of children's, young adult, and adult fiction and non-fiction from 1983-present. The full text of most reviews are available online.
- Book Review Index Plus (1965-present)Reviews of both scholarly and popular materials from 1965-present. Includes some full text and links to full text as well as citations for works available only in print.
- LexisNexis Academic (1985-present)Finds book reviews in a variety of newspapers and popular magazines. To find reviews, "search the news" using the title of the book and the word "review" (example: "harry potter and the death hallows review").
- New York Times Book Review (1997-present)Reviews of fiction and non-fiction. To limit a search to book review, click on "more search options," scroll down to "document type" and then "reviews," and click on "book reviews."
Resources for Reviews of Scholarly Books
- JSTORIncludes core journals from the humanities, arts, social sciences, and sciences. Usually does not include the most recent 3-5 years. To find book reviews only, click on advanced search and narrow by "Review."
- Project MuseFull text access to reviews from over 400 core journals, including the most recent issues. To find reviews only, click on "advanced search" and then "type of content: reviews only."
- Current Contents ConnectContains citations to and some full text of reviews of scholarly articles and books in the sciences and social sciences. Coverage is limited in the arts and humanities.
- CHOICE: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries (2009-present)
Resources for Reviews in Historical Newspapers
- New York Times Historical (1851-2001)Full text access to every issue of the New York Times published between 1851 and 2001.
- Times (London) Digital Archive (1785-1985)Full text access to the Times of London from 1785 to 1985.
- Early American NewspapersFull text access to access to a variety of newspapers published in America between 1690 and 1876. Search tip: put the title of a book in quotation marks and add the word "review."
- British Newspapers, 1600-1900Full text access to a variety of British newspapers published between 1600 and 1900. Search tip: put the title of a book in quotation marks and add the word "review."
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